English Grammar

"English grammar is the process by which meanings in the English language are conveyed into word choice."

The organization of words, phrases, clauses, sentences, and entire texts is included in it. Grammar is the process through which we organise words to form whole sentences.

Word level grammar includes verb and tenses, nouns, adverbs, and so on. Sentence level grammar includes phrases, sentences, reported speech, and so on.

In English, there are eight "word class" or "parts of speech".
These are: noun, determiner, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, and conjunction.

Nouns are the most common word class, while verbs are the second most common.

English Grammar

What is Grammar?

Let's have a look,

"Grammar is a language's foundation. It is commonly referred to be a language rule."

When we say "rules," we mean that someone developed the rules initially and then spoke the language, as if it were a new adventure. However, languages did not begin in this manner.

Languages began with individuals creating sounds, which eventually grew into words, phrases, and sentences.

There is no universally understood language, and every language evolves throughout time. The term "grammar" represents a snapshot of a language at a certain place and point in time.

Is It Necessary to Study Grammar in Order to Learn a Language?

The simple response is "no." Many individuals across the world speak their native language without having mastered its grammar, and children begin to communicate before they even understand the term "grammar." However, if you are serious about learning a foreign language, then the reply is, "yes, grammar may help you learn a language faster and more efficiently." It's critical to think about grammar as a buddy who can assist you.

When you comprehend a language's grammar (or system), you can grasp this concept without seeking a tutor or consulting a textbook.

Now let us try and understand it better by dividing it into Word Level Grammar and Sentence Level Grammar.

English Grammar

1. Word Level Grammar

"There are 9 parts of speech under the category of Word Level Grammar.

Noun, verb, adjective, and adverb constitute open class - word classes."

The others are classified as closed courses.

It is unusual, for instance, for a new pronoun to join the language. Determiners, which have usually been classed alongside adjectives, have not always been viewed as a distinct element of speech. Interjections are yet another word class, although they are not discussed here since they are not part of the language's phrase and sentence construction.

Language expert adhere to nine-word class: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, conjunction, determiner, and exclamation.

Phrases are formed when words join, and a phrase often performs the same purpose as a word from a certain word class.

My very dear buddy John, for instance, is a phrase which can be employed in a sentence as a noun and is hence referred to as a noun phrase.

Similarly, adjectival and adverbial phrases operate similarly to adjectives and adverbs, although the nomenclature varies depending on the kind of phrase.

English Grammar

1. Noun

"Noun in simple definition is the name of a place, person or a thing. "

These play important characteristic in sentences, from the subject till the object for a particular act/ activity. Noun are capitalised when they are the official title of a thing, place or a person, so in that case noun are better called proper nouns.

2. Pronoun

"Pronouns replace nouns, and they are more generalised forms of nouns that exclusively relate to humans."

3. Verb

"Verbs are action words that describe what occurs in a phrase."

They can also convey the emotional condition of a sentence topic (is, was). The tense (present, past) and count differences cause verbs to alter form (singular or plural).

4. Adjective

"Adjectives are used to characterise nouns and pronouns."

They describe which one, how much, what type, and other details. Adjectives assist readers and listeners in utilising their perceptions to envision things better.

5. Adverb

"These are words that characterise verb, adjective, and even other adverb."

They detail when, where, how, and why anything occurred, as well as the extent or frequency with which it occurred.

6. Preposition

"Prepositions demonstrate the spatial, chronological, and role relationships that exist among a noun or pronoun and the other words in a phrase."

They appear at the beginning of a prepositional phrase, which includes a preposition and its object.

7. Conjunction

"Conjunctions build a connection between words, phrases, and clauses in a sentence."

Most common types or forms of conjunction are coordinating, subordinating, and correlative.

8. Determiners And Articles

"Articles and determiners work similarly to adjectives in that they alter nouns, but they vary from adjectives in that they are required for appropriate syntax in a sentence. "

There are indefinite and definite articles, as well as determiners and articles that specify and designate nouns.

Articles have traditionally been recognised as a separate component of speech in several conventional grammars. On the other hand, modern grammars classify articles as determiners, which specify or measure a noun. Even though they change nouns in the same way as adjectives do, articles are distinct in that they are required for good sentence structure, much as determiners are required to express the meaning of a sentence, but adjectives are discretionary.

9. Interjection

"Interjections are terms that can be used on their own or inside sentences."

These words and phrases frequently reflect powerful emotions and reactions.

Read on to know all these in detail.

1. Noun

Many frequent suffixes, such as -age (as in breakage), -hood (as in brotherhood), etc construct nouns from other nouns or various sorts of words. However numerous nouns are base types that do not contain suffixes (such as Dog, table, Delhi). These are frequently formed by combining verb or adjective, as in the terms chat and reading (an interesting talk, the assigned reading).

Noun is categorised as semantically i.e., on basis of meaning -

  • Proper Noun and Common Noun (Delhi, India vs. frog, milk) or as
  • Concrete Nouns and Abstract Noun (cup, mobile vs. shame, bias).

Noun are categorised on basis of counting as;

  • Countable and Non-Countable Nouns (trees, clocks/ milk, decoration)
  • Singular and Plural Nouns (woman/women, foot/feet)

There is a grammatical contrast between count (countable) nouns like clock and city and non-count (uncountable) nouns like milk and decoration. Some nouns, such as "wine," can act either as countable and uncountable (This is a great wine, I like red wine).

Single and plural form of countable nouns are common. In most circumstances, the plural is accomplished by adding -[e]s to the singular (as in dogs, bushes), but there are also irregular variants (woman/women, foot/feet, etc.), as well as cases when the different forms are identical (sheep, series).

Tip: Certain nouns can be used with plural verbs while being single in form. Singulars that have a collective sense are handled as plurals.

English language nouns are not categories for certain position or incident, as they are in other languages. Though these have possessive form, which are formed by adding -'s (as in Peter's, puppet's), or simply an apostrophe (with zero modification in pronunciation) in the case of -[e]s plural and maybe other clauses that end in -s (the cats' tenants, Gods' love).

Phrases

These include phrases that grammatically serve as noun inside sentences, such as the subject or object of a verb. The head of most noun phrase is a noun.

A normal English noun phrase looks like this :

Determiner + Pre-modifiers + NOUN + Postmodifiers/Complement

The determiner in the sentence can be an article (the, a[n]) or another comparable word. In many circumstances, a noun phrase must include some sort of determiner.

Adjectives and some adjective phrases (such as red, truly attractive) are examples of pre-modifier.

Coordinating conjunctions like and, or, and but could be employed at different levels in noun phrases like Peter, Charles, and Marie; the matching green suit and hat; a perilous but wonderful journey; and an individual sitting or standing.

These can also be used in apposition (where two successive words refer to the same item), as in George Bush or USA's president (in this president and George Bush are in apposition).

In other cases, a preposition phrase might communicate the same thing, as in the double or same clause of starvation and plague (meaning "the twin curses" that are "starvation and plague").

Certain noun phrases involve;

  • phrase created by the determiner with adjectives, as in the homeless, (It is a plural phrase referring to homeless individuals)
  • phrase with a pronoun instead of a noun as the head; and phrases with a pronoun instead of a noun as the head.

Sentences that only contain a possessive form, in certain times infinitive and gerund phrase can be used there. Specific clause, such as that-clause and relative clause, such as what he stated, should be used in specific contexts.

Gender

In classical times, there was a gendered grammatical structure in which every noun was handled as masculine, feminine, or neuter, but it went out of usage in the Middle English era. Contemporary English maintains natural gender characteristics, including the usage of specific noun and pronoun (such as he and she) for referring certain person or animal of one or both genders, and others (such as it) to relate to sexless objects.

Note: Feminine pronouns are sometimes used when making reference to ships (and, more rarely, some aeroplanes and analogous machinery) and nation-states.

The trend towards gender-neutral language has altered some features of gender use in English.

Animals are triple-gender nouns, meaning they may be given male, female or neuter pronouns. In general, there is no distinction between male and female nouns in English. However, when talking about humans or animals, gender is sometimes revealed by distinct forms or dissimilar terms.

Numerous nouns that relate to individuals' responsibilities and occupations, such as "cousin," "teenager," "teacher," "doctor," "student," "friend," and "colleague," may relate to either a male/ masculine or female or feminine topic.

Let us look at few examples;

  • Jessica is my friend. She works as a dentist.
  • Andrew is a cousin of mine. He works as a dentist.

The gender of these neutral nouns is frequently determined by introducing the adjectives "man" or "female."

  • Sarah is a female physician.
  • No, he is not my lover; he is only a male acquaintance.
  • I have two male friends and three female friends.

To express familiarity, nouns depicting objects with no gender are seldom addressed to using a gendered pronoun. It is also customary to use gender-neutral pronouns (it).

  • I love my bike. She(Bike) is my greatest passion.
  • France is currently popular among her (France's) neighbours.
  • I sailed from England to New York aboard Queen Elizabeth; she's a fantastic ship.

2. Determiners

Determiners are a very limited group of words in English.

These include;

  • The articles the and an
  • Specific demonstrative and interrogative words like this, that, and which
  • Possessive form like my and whose (noun possessive forms such as Jessica's and the boy's can also serve as determiners)
  • numerous quantifying words such as all, few, many, various; and numerals (one, two, etc.).
  • There are several phrases (like a couple of) that can serve as determiner. These can be used to create noun phrases.

Various words that function as determiner can also function as pronoun (this, that, many, etc.). Specific combinations of determiners are permissible, such as many issues, all the water. Also, many circumstances demand that an article or another determiner follow a noun phrase.

Simply saying "my kitten Sandy sat on the table" is not grammatically correct; instead, say "my cat sat on the table." When it relates to a full class or idea (as in lizards are dangerous and beauty is subjective), or when it is a name, the most typical scenarios in which a comprehensive noun phrase can be created without a determiner (Jessica, France, etc.).

3. Pronoun

Pronouns are a tiny, closed class of words that serve as substitutes for nouns or words or phrases.

Personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, relative pronouns, interrogative pronouns and indefinite pronouns, are some of its types.

(i) Personal Pronoun

"These pertain to people (as other pronouns do), and they are elements of the grammatical person system (1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person). I, you, she, he, it, us, and they are all examples of them."

  • You and other second-person form are used with both single or plural references. In certain places, y'all (you all) is used as a plural, and in several other places- words like guys is used.
  • Thou, thee, oneself, thy, thine are ancient second-person pronouns for single reference that are still used. You can be an indefinite pronoun to refer to an individual generally instead of the much more formal one (reflexive oneself, possessive one's).
  • The third-person singular form are classified based on the gender of the individual. Like, she can refer to a female individual, a female animal, or an item with feminine features, such as a ship or a country/ nation. He is used for a male human and, in some cases, a masculine animal. It can also be used in other situations.
  • It could also be used as a substitute subject in phrases like " It will be bright this afternoon.
  • With both multiple and single referents, the third-person form they are employed.
  • Singular, they were formerly confined to quantificational expressions such as Each employee should tidy their desk and referential circumstances when the referent's gender was uncertain. It is, though, significantly employed when the gender of the referent is immaterial or when the referred is neither male nor female.
  • Possessive determiner like my are used as determiners with noun, as in my elderly man, some of his friends. Whenever they do not characterize a noun, the second possessive form, such as mine, is used: as pronouns.
  • As predicates, as in mine is greater than yours, and as nouns, as in this one is mine. Take note of my friend's structure as well (meaning "someone who is my friend").

(ii) Demonstrative Pronoun

In demonstrative pronouns of English, this (plural these) and that (plural those) are the demonstrative pronouns in English, for examples all those are nice, and I like that.

It's worth noting that all four words can also be utilised as determiners (after a noun), as in those cars. They can also be combined to generate the pronominal phrases this/that one and these/those ones.

(iii) Interrogative Pronoun

"Who, what, and which are the interrogative pronouns (these can use suffix -ever for more emphasis)."

  • The pronoun "which" describes a person or group of individuals.
  • Also, has an indirect form whom (though in casual settings this is generally substituted by who) and a possessive form (pronoun or determiner) whose.
  • The pronoun what is used to refer to things or abstractions. The phrase used to inquire about choices to what is seen to be a limited set: "which" (of the books) do you prefer? (It may also be used as an interrogative determiner: which book?; this can be used with the equivalent pronominal phrases which one and which ones.)
  • "Which, who, and what" can be singular or plural, however who and what are frequently single verbs irrespective of the number.

(iv) Relative Pronoun

"The most common relative pronouns are who (and its derivative forms whom and whose), which, and that."

The relative pronoun "that" refers to objects rather than people, such as the clothing that used to be red but has now faded.

In the case of individuals "who" is utilised (the man who saw me was tall). The other case form of who is whom, as in the tall guy whom I saw, however in casual forms who is usually used instead of whom.

"Whose" is the possessive form of who (Like, the guy whose automobile is stolen); nonetheless, the usage of whose is not limited to people (it can be used otherwise too - whose time has come).

The term "that" is generally used as a relative pronoun only in restrictive relative clauses (unlike which/Who). It can relate to either people or objects and cannot be used after a preposition.

For instance,

one can say the music that [or which] I played yesterday

or the song to which (no to that) I heard yesterday.

If it is not the subject of the relative clauses, it can be left out (the song I listened to yesterday).

The word "what" can be used to make a free relative clause, which has no antecedent and functions as a full noun phrase in and of itself, as in I love what he loves. The terms whatever and whichever can be used interchangeably.

In some contexts, the word "there" is employed as a pronoun, acting as a dummy subject, normally of an intransitive verb. The verb's "logical subject" then appears as a compliment following the verb.

"There" is most usually used in existential sentences with form of the verb be to allude to the presence or existence of something.

As an example:

  • There is a paradise.
  • There are two glasses on the desk.
  • There have been a lot of troubles recently.
  • There was an odd incident.

There are two primary variations that can be seen. Also, There's is frequently used for both single and plural nouns.

(v) Reciprocal Pronoun

"These are each other and one another are the reciprocal pronouns."

Despite the fact that a space separates them, they are ideal to be employed as single words. There is no discernible difference in meaning or use between them.

Like that of reflexive pronouns, their usage is restricted to instances in which an antecedent comes before it. When it comes to reciprocals, they must exist in the same phrase as the antecedent.

Other English pronouns, such as many, a little, and so on, are frequently similar in form to determiners (particularly quantifiers). Some pronouns have various forms, such as none (equivalent to the determiner no), nothing, everyone, and somebody, etc.

4. Verb

Although specific suffixes, such as -ate (formulate), -fy (electrify), and -ise/ize (realise/realize), are regularly employed to formulate verbs, any suffix does not normally characterise the basic make of an English verb.

Various verbs also include prefixes like un- (unmask), out- (outlast), over- (overtake), and under- (undervalue). Verb can also be made from zero derivation from noun and adjective, as in the verbs snare, nose, dry, and quiet.

Mostly verb have 3-4 types along with the initial form:

  • a third-person singular present tense form like -(e)s (speaks, botches)
  • a present participle and gerund form in -ing (speaking)
  • a past tense (spoke), and
  • a past tense form - a past participle (spoken)

Regular verbs in -ed have same type of past tense and past participle forms; however, there are about 100 irregular English verbs with various types. There are also irregular third-person present tense versions of the verbs have, do, and say (has, does). Also "be" has the most form of the verbs (am, is, are in the present tense, was, were in the past tense, been for the past participle).

Auxiliary verbs are used to generate the majority of what are mostly called to as verb tenses (or occasionally aspects) in English Grammar.

There are various forms;

  • The simple present (write, writes) and simple past (wrote),
  • Continuous (progressive) forms (am/is/are/was/were singing)
  • Perfect forms (have/has/ had sung),
  • The perfect continuous form like have/has/had been singing)
  • Future form like (will speak, will be speaking, will have written, will have been writing), and conditionals (also known as "future in the past").

The auxiliaries shall and should occasionally take the place of will and would in the first person.

The infinitive is the fundamental type of verb (be, write, play); however, there is also a "to-infinitive" (to be, write, play) that can be utilised in various syntactical forms. Also, there are various infinitive for various characteristics, such as (to) have written, (to) be writing, and (to) have been writing.

Also, various imperative forms can be formed with let (let us go, let's go, let them eat cake).

In some cases, a form similar to the infinitive can be employed as a present subjunctive: It is critical that he follow them or be dedicated to the cause.

Also, there is past subjunctive different from the simple past solely by the possibility of using were instead of was), which is used in conditional phrases and the like: if I were (or was) young...; if he were to come now...; I wish she were (or was) here.

The passive voice is produced by combining the verb be (in the correct tense or form) with the past participle of the verbs in question: automobiles are driven, he was slain, I am tickled, it is good to be nurtured, and so on. The action's performance can be in the phrase using by (as in they were killed by the invaders).

The fundamental modals in English are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, and ought (to), had better, and in rare cases dare and require.

With the exception of ought, which applies to the general infinitive forms of verbs (I can swim, he may be murdered, we dare not move, do they need to go? ) (You ought to go). Modals can be used to describe the condition, likelihood, potential, necessity, obligation, or capacity shown by the speaker's or writer's mindset or statement.

The copula be, including the modal verbs and other auxiliaries, constitute a separate class that is often referred to as "special verbs" or just "auxiliaries."

Verb Phrase

A verb phrase is made up of a verb and its dependencies, minus the subject.

  • A predicate is a verb phrase that is headed by a finite verb. Object compliments and modifier can all be dependents (adverbs or adverbial phrases).
  • Objects and complements almost generally occur after the verb in English.
  • A direct object comes before other complements such as prepositional phrase, but if there is also an indirect object, stated without a preposition, then that comes before the direct object. For instance; hand me the book, give it to me.
  • Adverbial modifiers often follow objects, although different locations are conceivable.
  • Phrasal verbs are verb-modifier pairs with separate meanings (for example, take on and get up).

5. Adjectives

Many adjectives are created from nouns or other words by the additament of a suffix, such as -al (habitual), -ful (blissful), -ic (atomic), -ish (impish, youngish), -ous (hazardous), etc. and some other are formed by using a prefix: disloyal, irredeemable, unforeseen, overtired, etc.

English adjectives, like other word classes, could not be recognised as such by their form. Here are few tips that can make its usage easy;

  • Adjectives could be used attributively, as a component of a noun (almost usually before the noun they alter; see postpositive adjective for exceptions), as in the huge house, or as in the mansion is huge.
  • Several adjectives are confined to one of two meanings; for instance, drunken is attributive (a drunken sailor), but drunk is frequently predicative (the sailor was drunk).
  • Several adjectives, such as faster and quickest, have comparative and superlative variants in -er and -est (from the positive form fast). The same spelling rule that applies to normal past tense construction apply to suffixing adjective like in regular past tense composition. They encompass consonant doubling (as in bigger and biggest, from big) and the shift of y to I following consonants (as in happier and happiest, from happy).
  • The adjectives excellent and evil have the irregular forms better, best, and worst, worse; far does become further, furthest, or further, farthest. The adjective old (which has the standard forms older and oldest) also has the unusual forms elder and eldest, which are usually used.
  • The adjective aged (which has the standard form or type older and oldest) also contains the irregular variants elder and eldest, which are mainly confined to use in contrasting siblings and in select independent situations.
  • Nevertheless, numerous adjectives, lack the comparative and superlative forms. They can then be characterised with more and most, as in appearance/ beauty, more beautiful, and most beautiful.

Another category is of Ungradable adjectives - These are those that cannot be graded.

  • These characteristics have no comparison on a scale; they either apply or do not, as in pregnant, dead, or unique.
  • As a result, comparative and superlative versions of such adjectives are rarely employed in a metaphorical, funny, or unclear context.
  • Likewise, such adjectives are not generally qualified with degree modifier such as extremely and pretty. Another form of an ungradable adjective is one that represents an excessive degree of a trait, such as delicious and terrified.

Adjective Phrase

An adjective phrase is a collection of words that function as an adjective in a sentence.

It generally starts with a single adjective, to which modifiers and complements might be appended.

A prior adverb or adverb phrase can modify an adjective, as in really warm, truly imposing, and more than a little enthusiastic.

Few can also be followed by a word or a numerical phrase, as in fat-free, two-meter-long.

Alongside the adjective, complements may include:

  • Prepositional phrases: he is proud of himself, he is upset at the screen, he is interested in rearing toads.
  • Infinitive phrases: eager to tackle the problem, simple to remember; content clauses, i.e., convinced that he was correct, unclear where they are;
  • Following comparisons, phrases, or sentences beginning with than: better than you, smaller than I thought

Also, some adjective phrase may have both modifiers well before the adjective and a compliment after it.

Adjective phrases with complementing after the adjective are not generally employed as attributive adjectives before such a noun.

They are used following the noun, as in a man proud of being a doctor (where they may be turned into relative clauses: a man who is proud of being a doctor), but it is incorrect to say *a proud of being a doctor man. Exceptions are relatively brief and often used terms like easy-to-use.

(Some compliments, such as a better guy than you, a difficult nut to crack, can be shifted after the noun, having adjective before the noun.)

Some attributive adjective phrases are derived from other parts of speech that do not have an adjective as their head, such as a two-bedroom home or a no-jeans policy.

6. Adverbs

Adverbs serve a variety of tasks.

"Adverb are commonly used for modification of verb (or verb phrases), adjective (or adjectival phrases), as well as other adverb (or adverbial phrases)."

Adverb, can occasionally;

  • Qualify noun phrases (just the employer; quite a gorgeous place), pronoun and determiner (nearly all), prepositional phrase (halfway through the journey), or full sentences
  • Add a contextual commentary or convey an attitude (Honestly, I don't believe you).
  • Or even denote a connection between phrases or sentence (He died, and consequently, I inherited the estate).

Some of the key characteristics of Adverbs include;

  • Many adverbs are produced by the suffix -ly to adjectives, as in hopefully, broadly, theoretically.
  • Many words, such as rapid, straight, and hard, can be employed as both adjectives and adverbs.
  • Some of the types of adverbs include Adverbs of time, frequency, place, degree. Few typical suffixes are utilised to generate adverb from noun such as -ward[s] (as in homeward[s]) and -wise (as in lengthwise).
  • Most adverb become comparative and superlative by modifying with more and most: often, more frequently, most frequently; smoothly, more smoothly, most smoothly.
  • Although for comparatives and superlatives forms, some adverb preserves irregular inflection: much, more, most; a little, less, least; well, better, best; poorly, worse, worst; far, farther (farther), farthest (farthest); or follow the standard adjectival inflection: quick, faster, fastest; soon, sooner, soonest; etc.
  • Adverbs denoting the way of an action are usually put after the verb and its objects although different places are frequently feasible.
  • Numerous frequencies, degree, certainty, as well as other adverbs (such as often, always, almost, probably, and numerous others such as just) seem to be positioned prior the verbs (they usually have wafers)
  • Also, if there is an auxiliary or other "special verbs", then such adverb should be put after that specific verb for instance

I just completed the crossword puzzle; she can normally drink a pint; We are never late; you are always on time.

  • Adverbs that relate to earlier information (such as next, then, nevertheless) and those that offer context for a phrase (such as time or location) are often put at the beginning of the sentence: We went to the supermarket the day before yesterday.
  • If verb has an object, the adverb follows it (He finished the test quickly). When there are multiple adverbs, they normally come in the following order: manner, place, and time (His arm was severely hurt at home yesterday).
  • The adverbial phrase, which is employed to produce phrasal verbs, is a sort of adverb (such as up in pick up, on in getting on, etc.)
  • If such a verb also contains an object, the particle may come before or after the object; however, it will usually come after the object if the object is a pronoun (pick the pen up or pick up the pen, but pick it up).

Adverb Phrase

The term of adverb is a phrase that functions as an adverb within the context of a sentence.

Adverb phrases, like adjective phrases, can have an adverb as their head and any modifier (just like other adverb or phrase) and complement. For example: extremely sleepily; unexpectedly; weirdly enough; possibly startlingly for us.

The prepositional phrase is yet another sort of adverb phrase that comprises of prepositions and its objects: in the pool; after two years; for the sake of peace.

English Grammar

7. Preposition

Prepositions are indeed a closed word class, yet certain phrases, including in front of them, can also function as prepositions.

A singular proposition can have several meanings, which are frequently temporal, geographical, and abstract. Several prepositional terms can also be used as adverbs.

Common usage prepositions (with certain examples) include of, in, on, over, under, to, from, with, in front of, behind, opposite, by, before, after, during, though, in spite of or despite, between, among, and so on.

As its complement, a preposition is frequently used with noun phrases. A prepositional phrase is made up of a preposition and its complements.

Such as India after six beautiful days; between land and sea, under the chair.

This is a phrase that could be used as complements or post-modifiers of a noun in noun phrases, such as the guy in the automobile, the beginning of the conflict; as a complement of verbs or adjectives, such as deal with the situation, be proud of oneself; or as an adverb phrase is broad.

The usage of "stranded" prepositions are permitted in English. This can be utilised in the sentences when the interrogative or relative pronoun that complements the preposition is pushed to the beginning (fronted), keeping the prepositions alone. In certain forms of formal English, this pattern is ignored.

As an example:

What are you speaking about? (Possible alternate version: About what are you speaking?

The music that you are listening to... (formalised: the tune you were listening to...)

Take note of the relative pronoun that might be removed in the second case.

Stranded prepositions are those that occur in passive voice structures as well as others are using of passive past participial phrases, in which the complements in a prepositional phrase could become minimal in the similar fashion as that the direct object of a verb does.

It was examined; I will be operated on; have your teeth examined.

A similar thing could have happened with infinitive phrase: he is pleasant to converse with; this is the sheet to make copies of.

8. Conjunctions

"Conjunctions provide a wide range of logical relationships between things, phrases, clauses, and sentences."

In English, the main coordination conjunctions are: and, or, but, nor, so, still, and for. This can be utilised in a variety of grammatical context to connect two or more objects of similar grammatical position.

Noun phrases joined together to form a long or length noun phrase, such as Peter, Jass and Jasmine, the blue shirt or the pink hat. When the conjunction and is applied, the resultant noun phrase is plural. The determiners don't have to be repeated with each separate identity or attribute. The same is true for other modifiers.

English Grammar

(The word "but" might be included in the meaning of "except" in this context: nobody but you.)

Adverb or adjective phrase joined to make a larger adjectives or adverbial phrases: fatigued yet pleased, across the sea and far away.

He sliced, peeled, and chopped the vegetables (verb combined, object is held common)

Other such objects connected include prefixes linked in pre-and post-test counselling, numbers as in two or three structures, and so on.

Clauses or phrases connected together, as in

We arrived, but they refused to let us in.

They refused to let us in and refused to reveal what we have already done wrong.

(i) Correlative conjunctions are those in which an extra element comes before the first of the things being connected in addition to these basic conjunctions. In English, the most prevalent correlatives are:

Either... or (therefore either woman or a man); neither... nor (neither intelligent nor humorous); both... and (they both reprimanded and praised them); not... but, especially in not only... but also (not fatigued but excited, not only table tennis but also many other sport).

(ii) Subordinating conjunction connect clauses, transforming the clause wherein they occur into a second clause. Some of the most common subordinate conjunction in English Language are:

conjunction of time, such as after, before, since, until, when, and while; conjunction of cause and effect, such as because, since, now that, as, in the sequence that, and so; and connectives of cause and effect, such as because, since, now that, as, so that, and so.

(iii) Conjunction of oppositions or concessions, including such although, though, even though, whereas, while; conditional conjunction, such as if, unless, only if, whether or not, even if, in case (that); the various combinations that, which generates content clauses, as well as phrases that generate interrogative phrase, such as whether, where, when, how, and so on.

Subordinating conjunctions are usually used at the beginning of a phrase, but qualified adverbs can precede several of them, such as probably because..., especially if.... The conjunct that can be deleted after specific verbs, such as she informed us (that) she was prepared.

II. Clause and sentence structure

English Grammar

Another significant part of English Grammar, apart from parts of speech, is Sentence Structure/ Formation.

A proper structured sentence has one independent clause and maybe 1-2 dependent phrases. Also, a coordinate form of form of conjunctions can be used to connect sentences of this kind to make longer sentences.

A sentence usually consists of subjects (noun phrases) and a predicated (verbs phrase.

A subordinate conjunct is usually included in a subordinate clause (or in the instance of relative clause, relative pronouns, or a clause or phrase having one).

Word Order

The German verb-second (V2) word order has given way to nearly entirely subject-verb-object word order in English (SVO).

The conjunction of SVO order and the usage of auxiliary verb frequently results in cluster of 2-3 verbs at the center of the phrase, such as he had expected to open it. For most sentences, grammatical connections are marked merely by word order, and this is one of the most important for sentence formation in the English Language.

Questions

Historically, English, like many other West European languages, enabled inquiries to be created by flipping the position of the verb and subject.

Modern English allows this only for a tiny class of verbs known as "special verbs," which include auxiliaries and variants of the copula be.

To generate a question from a phrase that lacks an auxiliary or copula, the auxiliary verbs do (does, did) must be included, coupled with an inverted words order.

English Grammar

History Of English Grammar

  • The earliest published English grammar was William Bullokar's Pamphlet for Grammar in 1586, with the declared objective of proving that English was equally as regulated as Latin.
  • Bullokar's grammar was based on William Lily's Latin grammar, Rudimental Grammatices (1534), which was utilised in English schools/ university at the period and was "ordered" for them by Henry VIII in 1542.
  • Bullock published his grammar in English and employed his original "reformed spelling system," although most English grammar was composed in Latin for most of the century after Bullokar's work, particularly by scholarly authors.
  • Grammatica Linguae Anglicanae (1685) by John Wallis was the final English grammar composed in Latin.
  • And by the early nineteenth century, Lindley Murray, the writer of one of the most extensively utilised and employed the grammars of the time, had to provide "grammatical authority" to back up his argument that English grammatical case differed from those in Ancient Greek or Latin.

Parts of speech in English are modeled on Latin and Greek parts of speech.

Certain English grammar rules were derived from Latin, such as

  • No sentences can finish in a preposition, which is claimed to have been devised by John Dryden since Latin does not allow sentences to terminate in prepositions.
  • No split infinitives came from Latin, as Latin has no split infinitives.

English Grammar Rules

English Grammar

English Grammar can be difficult to deal with, learn and understand, but some important rules can make the language easy to learn and understand.

Read on to know some of the golden rules of English Grammar;

1. Check your use of adjectives and adverbs.

Adjectives, which normally appear in front of a noun, characterise, identify, and quantify individuals or objects. They remain unchanged if the word is plural. Adverbs are used to change verb, adjective, and other adverb and are normally placed after the verb. As an example:

He's a fast driver. (adjective) He drives fastly. (adverb)

2. Homophonic words are those that are pronounced similarly to other words but have distinct meanings, even if they are spelled differently.

This may certainly cause misunderstanding, and sadly, many of these terms exist in English. As an example: they're - their - there; you're - your; it's its, and so on, So make sure to use the right one while forming your sentences.

3. Remember to modify the verb to match the topic.

The primary subjects to be cautious of are he, she, and it since they frequently have a distinct form than the others. As an example:

She has three kittens. RIGHT

She have two kittens. WRONG

This may seem like a small difference but can make it a big and noticeable mistake.

4. A conjunction is a word that can be used to link two thoughts or brief sentences. As an example,

I'm studying English. English is essential.

becomes: I'm studying English because it's essential.

5. In practice, sentences in written English are not very lengthy.

This is great news for English learners since it eliminates the need to write long, complex phrases. A sentence normally consists of two or three clauses (subject + verb + object) connected by a conjunction.

6. Using commas to make your sentences more obvious is a smart method to improve their clarity.

Commas indicate to the reader where one phrase ends, and another begins. For instance, if the weather is beautiful tomorrow, we'll go to the park.

7. You won't really know all the tenses if you are just starting to learn the language - English.

That's just fine and just concentrate on learning the four or five most commonly used.

8. There are frequently two ways to describe a negative thought in English.

For example, to express that the room is empty, you may say: There is nothing in the bedroom. Alternatively, there is nothing in the bedroom.

The phrases 'nothing' and 'anything' both signify the very same thing, but 'nothing' should be used with an affirmative verb, and 'anything' is while using a negative verb.


Next TopicWhat Are Tenses




Latest Courses